Insatiable
by Bambix2
Summary: He vowed after Kikyo, he would never be fooled again. You cant break a heart that doesn't exist. She thought she could trust only herself. You cant get hurt if you don't let anyone in. But when the quest to collect the shards of the Shikon Jewel forces them together and reveals the darkest parts of them to each other, they realize they weren't so impossible after all.
1. Prologue

Hello, this is the first story I've written in a long time and I've decided to publish. I'm a first year English student and creative writing is an assessment I'll be facing so this is sort of practice. However don't be fooled, i love writing and this is going to be so much fun! Please feel free to leave feedback for me to improve on or ideas for further chapters.

This is going to follow canon but also going to be a different story to the one we all know and love. This story eliminates the reincarnation concept and the time travelling well due to the fact I've rewritten Kagome's backstory because I wanted to try separating her from Kikyo a bit more. If it doesn't make sense now it will as you read, i promise it all becomes clear soon.. Enjoy! 

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It was on this night of the lunar cycle, when the moon was full, that she almost regret giving up her power. Nights like this, where her lungs burned as if her ribs had turned on her and punctured her lungs, and she ran past the taste of blood in her mouth, the feeling of bile in her throat and acid in her legs; past the point of collapsing until she felt like if she stopped running, her body would lose all purpose and she would die right there on the spot. So she continued, unrelenting, vaulting over tree roots that threatened to snap her wispy ankles should their gnarled fingers wrap around them, sliding down small hills riddled with rocks that gouged out chunks of her slick, bloodied skin, and even when tears appeared in her eyes and her body pleaded with her to stop, she merely let them fall and gripped the shard tighter until it was half-buried into her palm.

She didn't cry because of the pain. The pain was nothing, her bones had snapped countless times, her skin had ripped even more, the smell of her own blood was more familiar to her than even oxygen, instead it was the fear that permeated every fiber of her small body, a distress she had tried to bury but she couldn't keep it down no matter how hard she tried. It was too strong to deny that she was absolutely fucking terrified and if her heart didn't burst in her chest from the fear conjoined with the running and kill her, than what she was fleeing from would. Not physically, but when the underling caught her, he would take her back to where she had barely escaped from, and knew she would be broken down to nothing. The shallow bite marks above her left collarbone burned, a heavy reminder that this was it, her last push, every little bit of her soul was vibrating with the knowledge that she had to keep going, this was either the end of her suffering or the beginning of her salvation.

But she was only human and the demon on her tail longed to please his master, hours of running was taking its toll on her yet the demon had only started to sweat; she felt as though she was on some twisted opium. Like she was watching someone else control her body, disconnected from the physical, but rather than the sweet drowsy relief the drug provided, emotions ravaged her poor broken mind. It was only then, when she felt the demon breathing down her neck like a death god himself, that she could no longer stop her fear from voicing itself, and she screamed as though she was begging the forest to favor her, to save her. And it did.

For him, consciousness didn't exist. He wasn't aware of the darkness that surrounded him. Once there was a pain so great in his chest he felt like he was dying, for years on end. But that pain was long gone and so was any memory of the agony. For the half-demon there was no before, after or present. Then instantaneously a howl echoed through his body. Instinct had authority before his mind could reject it and was aware that time had returned to him. His muscles spasmed as his demon blood screeched for release and his claws grew in conjunction with his fangs, piercing his lips, still slightly open as he had no control.

The veins in his body pulsing to violently and he could hear the blood rushing around his body. The sides of his mouth twitched and the pulled back into a vicious snarl and the howl that resonated within him became embodied as it ripped from his throat into the biting, night air. Anger coursed within him as flashes he didn't understand came back to him in a vicious torrent, flashes of her face as she released the arrow that was his undoing and the hateful way in which she screamed his name. His anger grew to fury when he saw the predicament in which he was in, the large tree has grown in such a way that it had branches and roots surrounding his legs, as though it was embracing him, but to his demon side, he felt it was strangling him, dragging him down and he loathed it.

Upon trying to break free he was astonished to find the branches held strength to them that they shouldn't. Then the pain in his chest hit him full force, and all his memories finally made sense and the realization of just how long he had been slumbering there, 50 years. His jaw snapped shut and he growled as he looked at the arrow which pierced the left hand side of his chest, just below the pectoral; missing his heart by a hairs width. That bitch. She had effectively pinned him to the giant tree which he now realized was wider than him by at least 3 times and so tall that he nearly couldn't see the top; but sure enough the full moons light was poking out through the dense foliage above him. His demon blood was strongest on the full moon.

The howl resonated again but this time he realized it wasn't within him, the howl was in fact a scream and his sensitive ears picked up the sloppy footfalls of one, labored breathing and ever so slightly the rapid batter of a heart threatening to burst from its cage. If not for his canine nose, he would never have been able to figure out what it was they were running from but the stink of decaying meat and demonic energy made it abundantly clear.

They were getting closer, he would have a front row seat to this slaughter, and the prey was on its last legs, which turned his grimace into a smile that quickly fell. Why after all these years had he woken up? The arrow that was sizzling away at his skin, which kept mending itself only to bubble and burn again, proved that the spell was by no means weakened. The demon nearing his location was weak, so his demon blood was not rearing its ugly head to protect him. His train of though was interrupted when the human burst through the bushes only to collapse to the right of him. The few split seconds in which the pursuing demon set upon the collapsed human, moved slowly for the boy pinned to the tree, as though time had stopped. The demon while having a mildly strong energy was average in size for the likes of a demon, much larger than the human however, who he could see was a female. Her long light brown hair matted with blood, leaved, dirt, stuck to her sweaty body, which while small, you could see the strength that lay beneath it, and she seemed more athletic than the usual village woman.

Her skin was gashed open he took note of how much blood she had lost based on the fact it almost blocked out all other scents. He breathing was ragged and her legs quivered violently from fatigued…She had run hard and long and he felt the slight, if not unfamiliar, feelings of respect. He understood that ordeal, the fight that he had lived once, but for her it was over. However she surprised him, her arm lifted of the ground so slightly, reaching forward to drag her body to some sort of safety, and it was when she lifted her head, eyes locking with his that the arrow buried in his chest shone brightly, cracking with electricity as if his own demonic energy was fighting to overpower it. Before he could even register what was happening, the arrow vanished into thin air leaving no evidence of its existence but a simply pink aura which faded quickly. The flesh eating demons claws were now pressed down on the girl, claws digging into her already broken body slowly, it took only moments but for the half demon, it seemed like minutes. It was only when the demon behind the girl pushed down until her spine snapped and he heard her whimper, he lost it. His demon could not be held at bay any longer.

So the verdict was final; her death was at hand. But the thought did not stop her from trying to drag herself away from the demon anyway, raising her head she saw him, the half demon that was know in the community as the fool who was betrayed by the human priestess he loved. Inuyasha, that was his name, the Priestess Kikyo's arrow still protruding from his chest, and despite the feelings of the claws upon her back, she felt so calm looking into the molten gold that was his eyes. He had slumbered for 50 years, denied freedom for 50 years, just like her. When her back snapped, she could only let out a slight whimper and her poor body could take no more, she blacked out.

Quicker than he had ever moved, Inuyasha found himself in the demons face, the smell of death permeating from its mouth not phasing his demon in the slightest. Instead his face twisted up into a look of pure enjoyment as he threw the demon halfway across the clearing, the twitching of his ears and nose the only sign that gave away the fact the dog demon was checking on the well being of the young female, she was alive albeit barely. He almost stepped on her neck to finished the job and kill her, after the last human, he felt a rage within himself as he thought about the Priestess and her disloyalty, but for a reason his demon could not comprehend, he did not kill the human woman. Then he was back on top of the other demon, thrusting his hand into its body, grabbing on whatever organ he could find and squeezing it till it burst. Sleeping against a tree for 50 years had made him drowsy though and he could not react fast enough when the scaly tail hit him in the ribs throwing him sideways. Spitting blood out he recovered as best he could and snarled, a guttural, feral sound and found himself locked in a battle to the death. The demon was far quicker than he expected, most likely due to its average size however it had strength due to its meaty tail and the fact it had four legs with two arms left to grapple Inuyasha with. His demon was overjoyed with the prospect of a fresh kill, blood already on his claws it cried out for more and more it would receive.

Finally he stood back, triumphant, reveling in the feeling of the kill. The demon was nothing more than a mere carcass of mashed up organs littered with snapped bones. He spun on his heel to find his prize, the strange woman who had woken and empowered him; freeing him. Irritated to find she was no longer where her body had collapsed. Putting his nose up in the air he took one large breath through his nose and located her quickly. His fight must have lasted some time because she had made it quite far and she was now paralyzed from the waist down, courtesy of the pile of meat behind him. He took off in the direction of her bloody smell, demon blood singing from the fresh air hitting his face, jumping through the trees as fast as his legs could carry him, until he found her quivering, murmuring nonsense. Her eyes were flickering showing the whites of her eyes and he knew she was close to death because of her ashy complexion. Despite how much she had been running, there was no sign of red in her cheeks, which he could see the closer he got to the Bone Eaters well, she was slumped against, legs twisted up unnaturally. He scooped her up and held her to his chest, his demon attempting to warm her up thought he still did not know why. He should have wanted her dead, why did he save her in the first place? Why did the sight of her so broken overwrite the rage he should have felt towards the Priestess? Why did the smell of her blood hurt more than the still recovering wounds from his fight? This strange woman who was enchanting his demon blood was so dangerous yet he felt the need to protect her. The wolves had a natural instinct called imprinting, had he been in his usual state he would have wondered if this was like that, however his human mind was still groggy and had yet to make an appearance. Inuyasha brushed his nose ever so slightly against the young girl, who then in turn pushed herself near her new found warmth on this cold night. His chest rumbled, good girl. With a feeling of satisfaction in his heart he set off to the only safe place he knew of.

Being hated most of his life, it was only natural he had to find good spots to hide, especially for his nights of weakness; he had located a den many years ago when he had met the Priestess and settled in the area. He knew demons had invaded this territory which was once his but right now that wasn't his concern. In a valley a few minutes away from the Bone Eaters well, he had found refuge and comfort. There was a waterfall that masked his scent and provided vegetation to the area as well as attracting forest dwellers such as deer, rabbits, and the occasional bear for him, which he appreciated, never killing more than he needed to eat and stay healthy. The waterfall fell into a large lake which then funneled out into a few rivers, alive with fish, that ran though the forest he had claimed as his territory, which now was split up between a handful of lesser demons; he would deal with them later. He leapt further into the valley, towards a small cliff face, on top of the cliff grew large old willow trees older than the forest itself, their large roots had grown over the edge and fell down, burrowing into the side and weaving around the rock face like a blanket. Unless you knew where to look, you'd never find the opening unless a certain flea demon had shown you. The opening was completely blocked by the roots, no light could get through making it hidden, to enter you had to slip between two large roots and follow a small passage that opened up into an large, dry space. In the back of the cave was long expired wheat and dried meats that he quickly pushed aside, before laying the girl down on the crude bedding he once slept on, it was dirty and thin, better than the floor but not by much. And it was there in this cave, the rage filled, violent demon Inuyasha, tenderly nursed the broken body of a girl as best he could.

Only a few hours had gone by, and the moon was halfway across the sky. The human, who's name he still did not know, had stopped bleeding and was no longer shivering due to the small fire burning in the center of the cave. He watched the smoke as it funneled out through a few small openings in the ceiling of the cave leading to God knows where. She had stopped making pained noises long ago, and although she wasn't getting any worse, he did not know if she would last past sunrise. His demon had limited options, instinct was no help when it came to healing of any sort, so it was a waiting game, if she was weak, the wench would die. That's how it works, the weak die. He gazed upon her, shallow cuts littered her body, which was almost bare, and her tattered attire was the only thing keeping her dignity intact. She had strange white markings along her right arm that almost looked like scars, weaving around her arm in a tribal style he had never seen before, her palm lay open and he could see a black seal painted upon it. His gaze swept over to her other hand, closed in a fist and tucked up under her chin. Where had she come from? This was no ordinary village girl, he tried to scent her again to find some clue but her blood hit him full force so Inuyasha walked over to the slumbering girl, and began to wipe of what blood he could with his robe sleeve. He brushed he hair back and found she was actually quite beautiful, her long, black lashes brushed against her cheeks and the skin that wasn't scratched up was smooth and soft, shame it would now be marred with scarring. Full lips parted slightly drew in shallow breaths and he found himself enjoying the scent of her that was starting to come out from beneath the blood. He found his demon being pacified, red fading from his eyes and cheek marks vanishing until Inuyasha was back to his normal self. Being so close he noticed bite marks upon her collarbone, so she bore the marks of promise, however the marks looked messy which implied either their mating was interrupted or perhaps unwanted, either way, another demon male had claimed her but not mated with her. He backed away from the girl, weary of her all of a sudden and set off to go hunting to clear his head and decide what to do with her, should she live.

It was only starting to hint at dawn when Inuyasha returned, she was still in the same position looking better than when he had left her. The fire was nothing more than a small flame and embers, but the cave was warm and the slight light that came from the pit gave a beautiful glow. In the dim light, the girl's hair looked darker He went closer, he wounds almost looked healed, the slight light making them look so much less severe than he knew they were. Nothing could have prepared him for what would happen next. As the first ray of sunlight stretched its self along the land, he felt something tickle his senses; an energy was approaching him, slowly but it approaching never the less. 'Damn it all' he thought, he turned to leave then something stopped him, a small groan. She was regaining consciousness, if he left now, knowing humans she would be in hysterics, Inuyasha snorted, paused and then sniffed again, he scent was different, he looked over and what greeted his eye sight had shocked him to the very core.

It was warm, and there was something soft beneath her which she longed to nuzzle. 'Am I dead?' she wondered, but when pain lanced through her torso, she realized with relief she was alive, then the dread set in. 'Where am I? Open your eyes!' she urged her body, she groaned yet couldn't will her body to move, she was utterly helpless and human, until a familiar tingle in her fingers began, it spread up her arms, like sweet honey. Then through her shoulder blades like warm water before it flowed down her back and spread through the rest of her body like smooth silk, relieving her of her pain ever so slightly. Her wounds started to knit back together slowly, and the fog lifted itself from her mind. She opened her eyes, grateful for the muted flickering light that bounced of the walls of the cave she was in. Her dark brown hair lay beneath her, twigs adorning it she absent mindedly noted. She could feel it, demonic energy, coming from behind her; she whirled around as best she could, legs still unresponsive, only to come face to face with Inuyasha, no longer bound to a tree, who was staring at her with an intensity she couldn't describe even until the day she died.

He couldn't fucking believe it. Her hair was a deep, dark, almost black brown, the shallow scratches on her body were gone, and the large ones were healing ever so slowly. But more than that, the energy he had felt growing, was coming from her... 'Hanyou' the dirty word entered his mind before he could chase it away, lip curling up ever so slightly in hatred at it. No it wasn't demonic energy it was something else, he couldn't place it, it wasn't even like the energy The Priestess had possessed, it was… It was only then he realized that her brown eyes were locked on his, weariness, fear, confusion but most of all a warning that told him she would try and kill him if he gave her the wrong sign. Not that it worried him, he could take her on easy, but that respect he felt for her came back again, she was strong and even afraid, she wouldn't give up.

"What are you?" His voice was gruff and rude, she didn't even flinch nor did she answer instead she replied with a question of her own

"Why am I here?" he saw the mistrust in her face and recognized it, he grew up with that, never trusting anyone, fearing for his life, expecting cruelty around every corner. It's the look of loneliness, where you have only yourself, trust only yourself.

"You could at least be fucking grateful. I saved you." He said voice low. Unbeknown to Inuyasha, she suppressed a shiver, he demanded respect,

"Thank you" she acknowledged to his surprise, he softened slightly at the tone of her voice.

"Keh," he slid his kill off his shoulder and began skinning and separating the meat, pausing only to throw more firewood on the fire. When it was blazing once again he placed the meant over it to cook. She stayed silent the entire time, watching his every move, when he handed a hunk of cooked hind in her direction she spoke "Uh I appreciate your effort but I don't eat meat." He looked at her with a blank stare.

"Whaddya mean you don't eat meat idiot? You gotta. What the fuck else will you eat?" she glared at him hotly "Excuse me? Don't call me an idiot you-"

"Hanyou." He finished her sentence for her. She never faltered, snorting she responded

"As if I care about that, I was going to call you a brute." His ear only twitched, the conversation ended there, upon which he stood up abruptly and reached into his pocket and threw back a small netted pouch full of wild berries, tree nuts, roots and green beans. Had he turned he would have seen the softening of her eyes, and she would have seen the soothed look that was upon his. It was so long since someone had been kind to either of them.

"So what's you name anyway wench?" he finally asked. After a pause she told him,

"Kagome." 

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Few things to be said: I'm not a vegan or a vegetarian so no, I'm not making Kagome this way because of my own beliefs.. Cause i enjoy eating meat. However due to her nature and backstory which i plan to reveal later on it will make sense why she is this way

Second of all, all of our favorite characters will be in this, but with new abilities. In the original manga and anime i felt like Sango, Miroku and Shippo were very underwhelming in fights and everything relied on Inuyasha, which is understandable but at the same time I'd love to include the rest of the gang.

Anyway until next time, Bambi x


	2. Sublime

Welcome back!

First off I'd like to thank Tidalaura for your kind words, it so encouraging to have even just one person appreciate your time and effort. I appreciate it and aim to not disappoint you :)

Seconds of all, My Beta/Editor (Mouse) is very, very strict when it comes to editing and will be starting to edit these as soon as his exams end next week. He is also a talented writer and will be partaking in writing a few pieces here and there. He has started watching Inuyasha for the first time only last night; however he is a binge watcher so I expect him to be finished by the end of next month at the latest. I've decided to re-watch Inuyasha again for my...5th? or 6th time with him too so our information will be fresh and relevant.

Finally I apologize if the story seems vague or uninteresting but there is a lot more to come and more that will be revealed. This is going to be almost complete rewrite of the original manga so expect a very long series to come. I currently have 3 more chapters written up but they have not been edited yet and i will continue to upload on a weekly basis perhaps until Mouse can both finish watching Inuyasha and edit. Anyway, that's enough from me, Enjoy!

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Had it been her choice Kagome would have fled as soon as she had woken up, but her back was still broken and thanks to her heritage she would walk again, just not anytime soon. Even though it would heal faster in her sleep she blatantly refused to when she wasn't safe; she had to be awake and aware. Instead she watched Inuyasha for the next few days, observing him and his habits, neither of them speaking. He left just before sunrise to go hunting, came back within a few hours with some rabbits or maybe a deer for himself and a pouch full of whatever non-meat edibles were growing. Fruit, vegetables, sometimes roots, sometimes berries; If she was lucky, tree nuts. She didn't know why he was feeding her, but had a suspicion that he felt obligated after saving her from the death that was inevitable had he not brought her to his safe haven.  
Yes, had he left her outside she would have perished, so Kagome simply nodded her thanks and waited until he left to go collect more firewood or kill the demons imposing on his territory before she crawled over to the fire to cook her roots and eat. By the time he returned she would be sitting back where he had left her.  
It was the eighth day when he brought back the furs he had tanned and dried out for her to replace the old worn ones that she couldn't resist sleep, and she slept for such a time that he almost became worried. When Kagome woke she jolted with a start, realizing that she had fallen asleep and left herself vulnerable; yet she was unharmed and there was a larger that usual pouch of food waiting for her, plus a skin filled with water. A movement caught her eye and a very soaked Inuyasha came through the entrance, the pitter patter of the rain up the cave calmed her, and in future when she looked back at this moment, she would say the soothing sound, was to blame for her indiscretion.  
"What was it like?" Kagome winced at how raspy her voice sounded, snatching up the skin, the cool water was a mercy to her dry scratchy throat. Inuyasha was startled by her speaking, used to the mute of a girl sitting in the corner of his cavern. He recovered when he realized she was staring at him expectantly.  
"How was what?" He sighed, faking indifference.  
"Being bound to a tree for 50 years" she answered quickly. "People said you looked peaceful, but when I saw you, you were wide awake...and angry"  
"It was shit. What else do you fucking expect? Imagine if someone you trusted locked you up and denied you freedom." His eyes held that fury to them once again and they burned into her skull. He took a deep breath and calmed himself when he saw her jaw set and knuckles white, concerned she feared his anger. Kagome felt sick to her stomach at his words, not at his anger; of course she understood how he felt.  
"What woke you up?" She questioned further, however judging by the look on his face he didn't know nor did he want to discuss it "You got me more berries, thanks" He was grateful when she changed the subject, not enjoying her unintentional nosey into the wound that was still raw upon his heart.  
"Keh, finally some appreciation." His words weren't as harsh as his words though, "Where did you come from anyway? You obviously ran from somewhere far from here." Snorting at his observation, Kagome thought about her answer before she replied,  
"I don't have a home really, but you're right I came from the south. Actually this forest was my home once, long ago when I was a child, but I left long before any human ever settled near the Goshinboku"  
'I don't have a home really.' Her words replayed in Inuyasha's head over and over.  
"So are you going to tell me what you are yet?"  
" I'm surprised you can't tell, I thought dog demons noses were meant to be superior" He heard the teasing tone in her voice, yet couldn't resist snapping back  
"They are superior, it's just you stink so much, I can't tell much more about you than the fact you have terrible hygiene" He smirked when he saw her brow furrow and her lips pull back in anger.  
"You stupid dog! I haven't been able to move in case your eyes are as bad as your nose, my back is still healing so how am I meant to go and wash up?" Inuyasha actually laughed, which surprised him, however, Kagome was still too angry to notice.  
Now the ice was broken, the only barriers that existed between the two of them, were the ones they created themselves.

Not even a few days later upon returning from hunting, did he find Kagome bathing in the lake. 'Stubborn bitch, how the hell did she get down there anyway, her legs must be healed.' He thought. From his perch in the trees he could see she, with her back to him, was sitting in a shallow, washing the dirt, leaves and blood away from her long hair. His ears twitched, as her humming reached him, her voice was soothing, and called to him like a siren's song. He watched as water slid down her lithe body, before settling the small dimples of her back, her hips had a sensual curve that he couldn't help but notice and he could just see her long legs floating ever so slightly in the cool water. His nose twitched as her scent became stronger, now that there was nothing covering her skin, it was sweet, like honeysuckle and peony, musky gardenia and a dark amber that drew him in but before he could get lost in it, a new scent approached him, a sickly sweet caramel, the scent came from the promise mark on Kagome's collar, and he snarled involuntarily, startling her. She whipped around, arms covering her body, thought he could still see she had ample cleavage, however the wry look she was shooting his way stopped his thoughts from going any further.  
"Pervert." He snorted, he probably deserved that one. He looked away and she began to wrap herself in his Haori  
"Hey! I left that to dry over the fire. Don't just help yourself!" His Haori meant a lot to him being given to him by his mother. He continued on "Anyway you're the one out in the open naked, Voyeur!" if she had clothing on he had no doubt, judging by the look on her face, that she would have tried to thrash him within an inch of his life at that comment, he grinned, she was too easy to rile up. To his surprise, (something he was feeling a lot these last few weeks) she composed herself and instead spoke quietly  
"Could you give me a hand then? Dragging myself down the cliff side without my legs was hard enough." He released with shock, her legs were still out of commission and she had dragged herself all the way down, just to get clean. "Fine don't help me then i'll get myself back up."  
"Tch, stupid you'll take too long and I don't want to have to come save you if some demon comes along." He said throwing her over his shoulder, her legs dead weight in front of him. Kagome huffed,  
"Couldn't you at least carry me nicely?" But he was already scaling the cliff side, he felt her cold body through the haori and his demon was screaming at him to get her warm.

And it went on, the two of them alone in that valley. Inuyasha, just getting his bearings, adjusting to being back after 50 years and Kagome, healing, waiting for the use of her legs to return to her. In the end Inuyasha just gave up and let her use his Haori, not wanting to go into a village and buy her clothing, and besides, he preferred his scent on her than the other male's scent, only leaving her alone once to ride out his night of the new moon. The banter continued and in time they began to be comfortable around one another to a point that Kagome didn't mind him picking her up to take her to bathe and then bringing her back again and conversation started to flow more. Each revealing small things about themselves without realizing it. Kagome learned Inuyasha hated spicy food, he also liked it when she touched his ears after giving it a small brush while she rode his back, he thought she didn't notice his barely audible purr. Inuyasha learnt from the way Kagome sat up every time he presented her with walnuts that they were her favorite, and she revealed her favorite time of year was spring. Although neither knew the others back stories, Kagome soon realized, she hadn't felt this-dare she say...safe...in a long time, to the point where she was with him on her night of the full moon, as a human...something she had never let anyone but her mother see. It frightened her, but the thought of being alone, all of a sudden scared her more. She would never tell Inuyasha that, maybe if she knew he felt the same she may have told him.

It was nearly a whole month and a half before Kagome finally was able to stand again, her healing wasn't as strong as Inuyasha's so she still stumbled around, like a newborn deer learning to walk. But she was independent and refused help now that she could walk, determined to look after herself. As soon as she was at peak performance, she squeezed the shard in her hand, she could continue on; she looked over at the half dog demon who was warming himself up by the fire. Kagome would miss him, she knew that, but she pushed the thought away, allowing yourself to miss someone is just trouble. When they betray you or leave...or die, it hurts. She shivered slightly at the thought and feeling cold all of a sudden stood up to walk over to the fire. Inuyasha stood up, preparing to leave as the sun was going down soon and the night sky would be pitch black, not a star or a sliver of moon in sight. Why he chose to go out on these nights she did not quite understand, though she did suspect, he stood by the entrance ready to run off, not to return until the next day.  
A gasp caught Inuyasha's attention and he damned his slowed reaction on the night of the new moon, he instead watched Kagome fall unable to help her, as she fell onto the dying embers of the fire pit. The smell of her seared flesh strong even though his sense of smell was weakened on this night. He rushed over to pull her out, Kagome's legs still shaky and placed her down on her unharmed side, the burn was mainly on her right calf, not too bad, she would heal quite fast. The real problem was the way she was looking at him, and the black hair that was falling in waves over his shoulders.  
"What are you gawking at?" He questioned, a little too aggressively  
"I suspected this was your night.." She replied, "I know about the fabled 'night of weakness' most half-demons experience. I sort of have my...my own" She trailed off quietly. He turned his attention to her leg,  
"You have to be more careful idiot! You could have really hurt yourself, what if I wasn't here huh? You might have been stuck cooking there all night." She almost flinched, he was really mad at her.  
"It's not that bad, I'm fine." Silence invaded the cave and they sat there for a few minutes before she spoke again. "It's so strange, seeing you human. You look completely different"  
"Keh, well it aint permanent so don't enjoy it too much"  
"Well actually, I prefer your doggy ears a lot more" Inuyasha's eyes widened and he stared at her as if she had grown another head. "What? They're cute I don't have some weird dog ear fetish" She muttered, a pink dust present across her nose and cheeks. Inuyasha composed himself but was still in awe, he spoke slowly, as though he wasn't sure if he should say it or not.  
"Kik-" He had to stop himself, as a half demon he was angry whenever he thought of her but as a human, he was just heartbroken and full of sorrow, he looked over at Kagome, she was looking at him too waiting patiently for him to speak. Her eyes were understanding, no trace of pity present, only empathy; and it was the look in her eyes that pushed him on. "She was the protector of the sacred jewel...we were going to use it to, to make me human." Kagome breathed in sharply but stayed quiet, so he continued "I always hated being human, I feel weak. But I would have done it for-" He didn't say anymore, Kagome could see the sorrow in his eyes, she wanted to ease him, the way he had eased her on her nights of weakness. She grabbed his hand and gently deposited something in it, he opened his hand, a pink shard thrumming with immense power greeted him. He looked at her shocked  
"Is...is this?" He didn't know how to react  
"It can't be used to change you, ever. I promise." She smiled softly  
"Wh...how did this happen!?" He urged her  
"A story for another time perhaps, but you should know, it can't be used to hurt you."  
"I think, if it was full, i'd use it to become a full demon."  
"Would that make you happy?"  
"Of course!" He replied with such urgency, Kagome wasn't sure if he was trying to convince her or himself.  
"I've seen you as a full demon, there isn't a trace of the real Inuyasha in there. Just instinct"  
"Keh what would you know, you know nothing about being an outcast." Kagome scoffed  
"You know nothing Inuyasha. Nothing at all" She took the shard back "You're perfectly fine as you are Inuyasha, don't be ashamed of your heritage. Your mother and father would be sad to hear you talk like that" Upon hearing her words, Inuyasha bowed his head. As a human, her words pacified him and he knew she was right, though he would continue to deny it. They sat by the fire, one nursing her burnt leg, the other enjoying her company as they filled the cold, dark night with conversation of the happier times they had in life. Kagome found that Inuyasha without his demon blood, was a lot more emotional than usual, he laughed more and was a lot nicer  
"Kagome?" Oh and he used her name for the first time too.

It only took 2 more weeks before Kagome was walking properly again, moving around by herself into the valley and back, Inuyasha knew after tonight, her night of weakness she would leave. He was relieved, fearing the way she affected his demon blood but if he was honest with himself, he wanted her to stay. That night he had spent with her on his human night had proved his demon was right... There was something about her; though he would never suck up his pride and ask. As dusk neared he returned to the cave and was surprised to see her asleep in the furs, his eyes widened, she never slept on these nights. Did she trust him? He watched in fascination as the dark almost black brown turned into a light, fawny brown, he felt that strange power of hers slip away and noticed the change in her scent. Sitting down by the fire, he continued to stare at the female who has become somewhat of a constant in his days.

"Kagome.." the voice was like a thick toffee that invaded her body and her mind, she couldn't move or open her mouth. The voice chuckled and Kagome went cold, sheer terror turning the blood in her veins to ice, 'it's him oh god its him its him its him' panic coursed through her uncontrollably when she felt him slip his cold bony fingers over her shoulders and into the folds of the yukata he always had her wear. He gently stroked the mark he'd left on her collarbone, his lips on her ear, he spoke softly, perversely "Little Bird, i'll find you"

Inuyasha had been staring into the fire for hours, watching the stories it told in its flames when the smell of Kagome's fear hit him full force, and she jolted up so fast she ended up throwing herself a few feet from the furs. He was at her side in an instant, startled to see tears running down her face, shaking her head slightly,  
"Kagome!" he shook her "KAGOME!" her head snapped to look into his face "It's okay, you're safe" he assured her as best he could. Feeling a bit awkward and worried all at once he half dragged her over to the fire to try fight off the cold that always seemed to seep into Kagome's body. He softly pat her back trying to comfort the still frightened girl, he understood how overwhelming emotions could be when you had your human nights. When he finally registered her shivers were actually whimpers he realized just how hard they had hit her.  
"Inu-inuyasha.." Her voice was small, nothing like the Kagome he had come to know. "please I need the Goshinboku, please take me there."  
"What? You're human, it's the middle of the night, can't you wait!?"  
"PLEASE!" She was pleading with him, desperation was pouring off of her "Please take me there I need it, I need it...I'll tell you everything. Please." It was then, Inuyasha realized, this enigma Kagome...She trusted him. And he trusted her...  
"Okay, let's go."

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Let me know your ideas and suggestions! I have a whole plan for this but I am open to change, tell me your favorite episode/chapter and I will include it.

Until next time, Bambi x


	3. The Listening

And Back Again! Hello! Thank you to everyone who has been reading, following and reviewing, its been so encouraging and positive. Mouse is finally able to edit and to help me write bits and pieces, we have planned out a lot of the story, loosely thought so there is plenty of room for change. He is enjoying this as much as I am and we are super excited. Anyway Enjoy!

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As the Goshinboku came into sight, Kagome's scent of fear began to lessen ever so slightly and her breathing had evened out, yet Inuyasha could still feel the rapid punching of her heart against his back. He pushed himself from branch to branch the sacred tree growing larger with each leap, but to Kagome it felt like it was moving further and further away.  
"Please hurry Inuyasha." She only whispered it but he heard her clear as the moon that was guiding his way in the otherwise tenebrous night. The human part of him wanted to drop her ass at the Goshinboku and get as far away from that damn tree as quickly as possible because 'what kind of idiot goes back to the prison he escaped from?' he chided. But his demon blood pushed him onwards, desperate to help the young woman on his back, never slowing not even when he split his foot open on the jagged stump of broken branch. 'Damn this dog demon loyalty fucking bullshit fuck shit!' He cursed to himself trying to calm the erratic beating of his own heart. While he wouldn't admit it, he was afraid to go back to the tree, but he was also afraid of what Kagome would tell him. Both guarded their hearts with such ferocity and he knew that he had already let his guard down around her, only slightly, but enough that he knew whatever was unfolding right now was going to affect him far more than he would like. Before he could finish his train of thought they arrived,

"The roots, place me by the base of the tree" Kagome spoke, more confidence in her voice. Inuyasha did as he was told and stood back watching her as she settled in the soft grass that grew in between the large roots as close to the tree as she could get. Folding her legs beneath her body, she motioned to Inuyasha to join her, who hesitated for a few seconds and then sat opposite her staying silent, curious more than he was apprehensive. She placed her right hard on the tree and the strange tribal markings on her arm he had always been curious about began to glow a pale blue. He felt the collection of a soothing power; then a few moments later that strange energy she possessed began to flow into the Goshinboku.

"When we first met you asked me what I am?" He nodded. Kagome took a deep breath, fearing to speak, she couldn't believe she was about to willingly confide in someone, a boy she had known only 2 months, why? She looked into his gleaming golden eyes, and realised even though she didn't know why, she knew that she wanted to. She took a deep breath, "I am a kodama."  
Streams of energy burst from her arm, pulsating bolts of pink and blue flowing into the Goshinboku, illuminating the trunk and all its branches as they created swirling patterns that danced all over the trees surface. Inuyasha could do nothing but stare in wonder at the beautiful tapestry she was weaving with her effervescent energy. She let out a deep sigh of relief and her heart finally started to relax, removing her hand all the lights stopped and slowly faded away leaving no indication of what had just happened. Inuyasha couldn't even form a proper sentence, he just moved his lips trying to form words and Kagome giggled at the sight understanding what he was trying to say. "I was searching." she said answering his unspoken question,  
"For what?" Inuyasha finally managed, his voice holding a child-like curiosity she hadn't heard from him before.  
"Not what, Whom. I was searching to see if...if the man who…who sent the flesh eater after me" Kagome shook her head not wanting to let on much more. Inuyasha saw her inner struggle, and stayed silent, allowing her the time she needed. But Kagome knew she owed it to him, after all he had done for her, he deserved an explanation. So she started at the very beginning "I was born of the forest, to my mother; a human woman who was a healer in the village, she died when I was very young. She fell in love with the son of a very wealthy headsman he had fallen for her too and he wished to take her away and give her a life of luxury, but she refused, insisting the villagers needed her because they had no other healer. Furious at the shame of his son being rejected by a lowly village healer, the headman ordered my mother's face to be dunked in boiling animal fat, disfiguring her face so that she would always live with the same shame she had brought upon their family. The Goshinboku, enraptured by her selflessness and sacrifice for the village it watched over, bestowed upon her a child, myself. Something that has never happened before or since." Inuyasha's first reaction was anger, remembering how humans had treated his own mother, and himself as a child. But he held his anger at bay, now was not the time for an outburst.

"Human…" Inuyasha murmured, eyes widening slightly, then his face scrunched up in confusion going slightly red, "the tree and you mum...they did...uh...how?" Kagome squinted at him before realising he was serious and her expression changed to one of disgust,  
"Oh God...No Inuyasha. The Goshinboku gave life to me, I share a soul with him and he is my father. My mother told me she heard a voice in her dreams, and the very next morning she went to the tree to pray rather than the temple like she usually did, then not long after she realised she was with child." Inuyasha nodded, understanding better not at all embarrassed by his stupid assumption.

"Anyway, because i was born of such a powerful tree, I am a first Triad kodama, said to be more powerful than others and we are the protectors...the guardians of the forest, the trees, the land. But a long time ago...I failed."

Kagome, continued to speak ,"There was another that i cared for once, he was very kind and gentle, I trusted him with my life. However he is no longer that way; and he has been after me for some time now, to get his shard back." She said opening her hand so he could see the shard. 'That's why he sent that demon after her' he thought. Kagome rested her head against the tree before she started speaking again. "He came to me in a dream and I was using the Goshinboku to search around this area, to see if he was here. Because of how ancient my father is, I can connect even when human. So thank you for bringing me home, this tree heals my very soul."

"So you're a half demon, like me? I mean, your energy doesn't feel demonic or like a priestess' spiritual energy" Inuyasha questioned, when it was clear she was finished. She tipped her head to the side, pondering the best way to explain it,  
"No i'm not half demon. I am Kodama, we are not demon nor are we human, we are in a different category i guess but yes i am half human, my mother gifted me with that. As for the power well the easiest way to explain it...um…Okay." She nodded, "Our power is natural, it's not pure like a priestess nor is it demonic like reiki. Our energy is neutral and it can be focused so that it feels...soft, that's how it feels when i focus it. We use it to heal, to connect ourselves to the forest, or we can focus it so that its hard, to fight. When i failed my duty, I had a very powerful priestess seal away my ability to weave the energy in that way." She turned her right hand over showing him the seal on her palm, "this seal stops me from doing anything but healing and connection. I vowed I would never use my power for evil again, i only destroyed when i had this power." He saw the dark look on her face and suppressed a shiver.  
"You now know my mother is human, on the night of the full moon most lesser Kodama hibernate with their father trees, the stronger ones lose all ability to heal and connect and instead have their fighting power amplified so that they can defend their forests against other demons night of power. "Inuyasha nodded, most demons were most powerful on the full moon, his demon included. Many went on rampages those nights or mated. "But because I can no longer summon that power, when my healing energy gets suppressed I have no power and am no more than human. She turned her face to the Goshinboku, a look of pure adoration on her face and whispered "Thank you Father." before facing Inuyasha again. His face betrayed no emotion and she watched, waiting for him to react. Waited for him to tell her to leave, to get away from him being the burden that she-

"Show me?" Kagome was slightly confused, shaking her head slightly before a smile broke out on her face in relief as she realised what he meant and grabbed his clawed hands, not fearing the killing instruments in the slightest. The sight left Inuyasha breathless, he had never seen her so open with her emotions nor had he been treated like something more than a dangerous animal since his mother passed. Kagome assumed the position again, one hand on the tree as her energy flowed through the markings on her arm into the Goshinboku; this time was different though as Kagome's energy was amplified by Inuyasha's demon strength, their connection to the tree became so much stronger. The forest came to life around them, everything was luminescent and so bright that even the smallest veins on the leaves glowed a beautiful fir green. The grass was alive and swayed, blue ripples pulsing through it every so often contrasting beautifully with the violet flowers that sprung up all around them, further illuminating the clearing surrounding the Goshinboku. The long tresses of the willows oscillated with a soft red, as the plants all started to dance, the dew on their leaves bright blue. The glow bugs glowed and the forest critters chittered as they looked on at the spectacle from the edge of the clearing, Inuyasha had never seen the forest so alive.  
His ears picked up a soft voice singing, looking around for it he couldn't find the source, nor was it Kagome's voice, he looked at her, she smiled serenely pointing behind him; Inuyasha turned and saw the source of the voice. A pink entity, with no real form, almost like a cloud, it was weaving in and out of orange flowers that had sprouted up to join the violet ones, leaving a bright white mark in the grass wherever it stepped, like glowing footsteps, dancing away to the tune it was creating. Then more entities joined him, each possessing different forms, some looked animalistic, some humanoid, some had shapes so abstract he couldn't name them even if he wanted to; most of them pink but a few were colors he had no word for. His mother had told him about this once, spirits of the forest, if you prayed to them they could protect your home and heal you but anger them and they would bring upon the wrath of Kami down upon you. As though she sensed his train of thought Kagome spoke, her voice was soft,  
"They can choose whatever form they like, whatever makes them happy, they are what some demons refer to as 'Lesser' kodama, but to us, they are beautiful and just as powerful and enchanting as I or the other First Triad kodama." He nodded his head, not wanting to frighten away the beings. More voices began to join in and eventually Kagome could not resist, she too began to sing, Inuyasha was overwhelmed, enchanted; it was amazing. He focused as hard as he could remembering what Kagome had said, wanting to feel connected with the land. 'Nothing, nothing, nothing...come on,' he thought silently, and then he felt it! He was the waterfall, crashing down into the cool lake below and the rivers which sung as they zipped all around the forest bringing precious life to all. He was the trees, standing tall, giving shelter to creatures of the forest as he danced in the cold winter air. He was the wind that chased and played all day and night, leaping and bounding wherever he wanted saw fit. He opened his eye to see Kagome looking at him, the pink returning to her cheeks when he smirked at her, she returned it with a shy smile. And the two of them sat there, enjoying the feeling of being connected to the forest until the sun came up and Kagome's hair was an inky black brown once again.

"Kagome...that was amazing." Inuyasha admitted, thanking her. The two sat under the Goshinboku feasting on some apples Inuyasha had swiped from the trees at the edge of the clearing.  
"Everything is connected, and everything has life, everything breathes and loves and reasons, even the moon and the grass we sit upon. I feel a connection with all of them: The birds, the snails, the wolves, every last living thing because i am a Kodama" Inuyasha finally understood why she did not eat the killings he had provided, it must be hard eating a creature whose life energy was once connected to your own. They fell into a comfortable silence for a time.

"I never thought i'd come back to this tree." He stopped speaking, wondering why he had admitted that to her, 'damn wench' he thought, annoyed at how loose lipped he was with her sometimes.  
"It's not the tree that you hate, it's the," Kagome paused wondering if it was too harsh "The memories," she finished. Inuyasha frowned but knew she was right. "Did you-"  
In a flash Inuyasha had yanked her into his lap roughly; "Inuyasha what the hell!" Kagome heard the familiar 'Thunk, thunk' as two arrows imbedded themselves into the ground where she had been sitting just moments ago. Inuyasha pushed her to a safe position between the Goshinboku and himself, Kagome peeked over her shoulder to see "The villagers, from the Priestess Kaede's village." Inuyasha's ear swivelled as Kagome spoke, as he snorted in agreement.

"You know it's rude to attack unprovoked, bastards!" He growled to the villagers, a few stepped back in fear but one man, who was helping an old priestess off a horse, bravely yelled back to the angry half demon.  
"Us? Rude bastards? How dare you! Grave robbers! You desecrated her lady's holy resting place!" Inuyasha growled even louder taking a step towards the villagers who were already nocking new arrows.  
"Inuyasha." Upon hearing the old priestess speak, tension dissipated and the villagers lowered their bows slightly, "It has been too long since i last saw ye, it is I Kaede. Who is your companion?" Inuyasha snorted,

"Gee you look like shit." Blunt as ever ignoring her question, Kagome didn't know whether to giggle or frown in disapprovement, she went with the frown.  
"Excuse him, he woke up on the wrong side of the tree…" she struggled to not chuckle at the dirty look he threw her way "Priestess Kaede, my name is Kagome. What seems to be going on?" she finished.  
"My sister, Kikyo-" She was cut off by a fuming half demon,  
"Don't speak about that bitch in front of me! I out to hunt her down and stick her to the tree!" Kagome knew he was angry because she saw him on the night he had woken up and she also suspected he had loved Kikyo, possibly more than she had loved him. So she wasn't surprised he reacted that way, a betrayal like that could drive one to insanity. She didn't reprimand his harshness nor did she try comfort him, right now he was too angry to be reasoned with. The villagers raised their bows, furious at Inuyasha's disrespectful words.  
"How dare you demon!" One cried.  
"Don't speak about her that way!" another screamed.  
"My sister died on the day she bound you to that tree." at Kaede's words, Inuyasha ear twitched and to the villagers it seemed nothing else changed in him; however Kagome and Kaede felt his demonic energy dissolve.  
"Then she got what she deserved." But his words were only a murmur. For him, that day was still fresh in his mind, as was the feelings for her in his heart. He didn't know what he felt more, the love and sorrow or the hate and anger of her betrayal, the two sat so closely together in his heart. Had it not been for the arrows pointed at Kagome he would have taken the risk and slaughtered all the villagers or not bothered to expend his energy and left, however she was here the annoying wench and he wouldn't leave her to fend for herself against angry humans. He knew what power angry humans possessed and it wasn't in his nature to leave. "You better tell your lackeys to put those damn arrows down, I'm not interested in your village anymore. Just because I'm free doesn't mean I'm going to kill you, so back off."  
"You dishonorable scum! Just give us back our lady's remains!" The man who stood by Kaede spoke again, Inuyasha was beginning to get very irritated with him.  
"I believe Inuyasha did not steal my sister's remains Rikichi," her words threw him off  
"But, but Lady Kaede, they were stolen not long after this…"Rikichi gestured towards Inuyasha, "filthy half demon was freed." Before Inuyasha could even growl or rip his tiny head off Kagome had stepped out from behind him, her voice was calm  
"You better watch your mouth Ri-ki-chi." She enunciated his name darkly "His name is Inuyasha. Use it." Rikichi paled visibly, angry that a woman was talking down to him but more fearful of the unknown. No one knew who she was. Inuyasha on the other hand was in a state of surprise, Kagome had stuck up for him?  
Sensing the apprehension between the two groups Kaede knew she needed to intervene.

"Please, ye must all realize this is not the time for this. I wasn't sure before but now i know for sure, that shard of the Shikon jewel ye possess young Kagome, who ever took my sister's burial urn, they also possessed a shard." Kagome froze, staring at the priestess in shock, she slipped Inuyasha a side glance, silently asking him for permission, which his demon secretly took pride in and he nodded. Facing Kaede again she beckoned the old woman over, the village men urged her to not go with the demon but they were instructed to wait by the village entrance for her return.

As soon as they were alone Kaede didn't waste a moment, keeping nothing hidden. "Ye must forgive them Inuyasha, times haven't been easy these past seasons. Their fear clouds their judgment. We saw the light released when you were released, I could sense your energy and my village feared the worst, however you did not come near us. Just after sunset last night, a demon came to our village, desecrated our sacred shrine and stole away with an urn of ashes and bones."  
"Your sister's." Kagome confirmed,  
"Yes, and I sensed the jewel coming from the demon, but it wasn't as it should be as if it was only a fraction of what it should be." Kagome looked down at her hands, expression hidden Kaede continued "I wasn't sure why until I sensed it coming from you too. The jewel, it shattered didn't it?" Kagome still didn't look up "You had something to do with this didn't you child?" Inuyasha looked at Kagome as she stiffened, her head finally raised, guilt written all over her beautiful features.  
"Yes, I shattered the Jewel." She admitted "I was trying to destroy it completely so that it couldn't be used to cause anymore pain. It didn't work though, I was found by its possessor and my energy clashed with his and well, we broke the jewel. I know what he's like, he won't stop until he's collected every single piece so i stole a shard… and I ran. I planned on getting the shards myself but not even a few hours later, one of his stupid demon minions was after me, my back was broken and Inuyasha found me." Inuyasha felt his demon blood flare at the mention of the demon who had hurt Kagome, he wanted more information about the demon that had sent the flesh eater after Kagome, but knew this wasn't the time to press and tried his best to pacify his more aggressive half. Kaede thought long and hard before she spoke,  
"Do ye still wish to collect the shards?" Kagome nodded vigorously "I believe you, being kodama, should be able to find them with your unique way of communicating with the areas around you yes?" Kagome's eyes narrowed  
"I'm impressed, its rare that someone identifies me these days." Kaede chuckled,  
"Tis true, the lesser entities are easy to identify, but ye are no lesser entity...in fact it's the sheer amount of power i can detect from ye that made me wonder. Ye confirmed my suspicions moments ago."  
"Tch." Kagome was annoyed she had been played so easily but the priestess had a pure soul, it was content with life. "Yes I can, I can ask the forest to help me find the shards. But I'm weaker than I used to be."  
"You and Inuyasha can do it, he is strong and-"  
"Wait a minute, you old hag what do you mean 'we' huh? What makes you think I'll help?" Inuyasha cut in.  
"Ye will help won't you?"  
"Keh." Inuyasha folded his arms and resumed silence, refusing to look Kagome in the eye knowing she would be smiling nor looking at the no doubt smug Kaede. They both knew it meant yes. Kaede hummed,  
"Then please, I urge ye. My sister was a very powerful priestess; unusually powerful. I know not why another demon wants her remains, but if they also have a jewel shard...I fear what is to come. And that is only the beginning, these shards hold just as much power in them as the jewel when it is whole, the jewel brings out the worst in humans and makes demons more powerful. This is no easy task, once ye collect it all it will need to be purified and protected." Kagome looked at Inuyasha who was staring vehemently at the scar the arrow had left behind on the Goshinboku.

"Well we better get going then." His voice was gruff and left no room for argument, turning Inuyasha faced Kagome, his golden eyes were ablaze.  
"Inuyasha, you don't need to help, I can do this on my own."  
"Keh well maybe I want the completed jewel all to myself.." Kagome raised an eyebrow at him, "Besides I'm bored...It'll give me something to do"  
"Pfft, yeah okay…" She smiled to herself secretly 'thank you' she thought daring not to say it aloud but she was relieved he would be with her. She had no fighting power and he was strong. Nodding towards Kaede, Kagome continued, "Okay which way did the demon go?"

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SO more backstory is revealed and we start on our journey!  
Let me know what you thought, or leave any suggestions for us.  
Anyway,

Until next time, Bambi x


	4. Renascence

Good Morning!

Sorry for the very late update, Iv'e been so busy at work and in my spare time I've been re watching Sailor Moon and Kuroko rather than writing, sorry sorry :P Also my editor Mouse is super lazy : So he was slow in editing this. Anyway, Enjoy~

Oh also, I am from New Zealand so I type with UK English (Centre, Fibre, Realise) rather than US English (Center, Fiber, Realize) etc. So uh, the one person who messaged me about my grammar... Yeah.

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Inuyasha was glad when he finally had his haori back, and his demon was particularly sated too when they noticed it smelt heavily of the woman who had been wearing it for the last couple of months. Kaede had provided Kagome with a simple light kimono, black in color, decorated with white illustrations of leaves, stalks and flowers, to which Kagome appreciated and tied off with a beautiful green obi that hugged her small waist. To Kaede's amusement, Kagome slashed the bottom of the kimono so that it ended just above her knees to allow her better movement and practicality. No one noticed a certain Dog Demon sneaking side glances at Kagome's shapely legs and frame.  
"Thank you Kaede, it's wonderful." She preferred the kimono to the priestess garments she was initially offered, and turned down the geta as well, this attire was perfect for movement and easier to clean. "This is perfect for the journey." Kaede smiled warmly in reply,  
"Are ye ready to go?" Inuyasha and Kagome nodded in sync, Kagome looked at him  
"Inuyasha, are you sure you want to do this?"  
"Keh, quit asking me wench, I've already decided so buzz off." He crossed his arms and stuck his nose into the air, Kagome leaned over and flicked him on the nose, starting a childish brawl of flicks ending in one another sticking their tongues out. Kaede chuckled as she had never once seen the half demon acting so childish, was this really the deadly Inuyasha that had once terrorized their village? The both of them stopped bickering as Kagome turned and stomped towards Kaede who was now sitting upon her horse, ready to guide them.  
"Are ye finished?" she asked with a hint of mockery, turning away from them towards the direction of the demon.  
"Just lead the way you old hag." Called Inuyasha from behind her,  
"Aye, we mustn't linger then. Away we go." Kaede in the lead, guiding the group, riding her horse expertly despite her age, followed closely by Inuyasha and Kagome. Inuyasha had to admit he was surprised to find out Kagome was capable of making this trip on foot, she ran at his pace never faltering, each step was sure and each leap to avoid a root or ditch was graceful. He thought travelling with others would be annoying, that they would be a hindrance, but for the first time in his life he wasn't alone and it was actually fun. He found himself trying to run a few seconds ahead of her but she was fast and he found he was speeding up to keep pace with her, and when their path took a turn through slightly harsher territory he found out she was far more agile than he. Kagome flashed a cheeky smile at him which stunned him so much that he almost didn't dodge the small branch she had tossed lightly at his feet causing him to slow slightly,  
"Hurry up loser, you're falling behind!" She called back from ahead of him laughing, he returned with a toothy grin,  
"Oh you're going down Kagome!"

Inuyasha felt like he could have gone on forever if he had to, but Kaede was only human and she was old so they had no choice but to stop and camp overnight. Inuyasha, overzealous as usual, bitched and moaned about losing time but they all knew that if Kaede was left behind and the other two went on ahead, the old woman would surely die of exposure or be killed by the dark spirits they felt surrounding the area. The three set up a camp just as the sun was setting, the area was near the edge of a skeletal forest that made Kagome feel nauseous to be around. The area went as far to the left and right as she could see and seemed as though it went on forever, it was littered with the bones of large trees, the cracked earth held wispy roots within its grasp, and was void of any green. She almost dread the thought of having to travel through it the next day. They set up their small camp, and Kaede had tucked herself away as best she could beside the fire, there was no cloud cover so the cold set in just after sundown. This didn't bother Inuyasha much, he didn't mind the cold, having suffered worse; but he was quite perplexed when he found himself worried about Kagome, that wench was always feeling the cold. She was sitting up, eyes locked onto the clear sky above, thousands of stars strewn throughout; and a serene look on her face as the the light from the fire bounced around her irises. Inuyasha hadn't had that much fun in a long while as he had chasing Kagome around, and even as he settled against a dead tree to rest his eyes, he couldn't help but still feel remnants of that childlike glee bubbling within him. His ears twitched as, they picked up shuffling and his eyes opened when he felt Kagome sit down next to him, he stared at her with one eyebrows raised by she refused to meet his gaze opting for the stars instead. He smirked, something akin to pride washing over him when he realised she had just wanted to be near him. The two ended up talking throughout the night making jokes about one another and bickering playfully, Kagome realised for maybe the first time in her life in a long time...she had a friend.

Early the next morning, not long after sunrise the trio continued their journey, this time keeping an even faster pace than that of the previous day, travelling mostly in silence, each caught up in their own thoughts. Kagome hated travelling through the desolate area, there was no life whatsoever present in her vicinity save for Inuyasha and Kaede. Trying hard to block out that feeling of emptiness she spoke, in a desperate attempt to fill the ever widening hole in her heart.  
"I feel sorry for her." Kagome directed her statement toward Inuyasha, his ear swiveled in her direction, "Her grave being violated. When you're laid to rest in the earth, one shouldn't be torn away like that." Inuyasha huffed,  
"Keh who cares, I'm going for the jewel. I could care less about her being at peace."  
"She's been dead 50 years Inuyasha, and you were the one to kill her, she should at least be allowed to rest peacefully by her shrine, undisturbed."  
"It's not been 50 years for me. It feels like only months ago since she.." He paused, he jumped in front of Kagome, grabbing her shoulders and stopping her in her tracks. "Wait what?! I killed her!? What the fuck are you talking about?"  
"Ye are the one who gave her the fatal wound that was upon my sister's shoulder, are ye not Inuyasha? She said it twas ye" He turned, wide eyed, facing Kaede who had noticed the interaction and stopped her horse to listen in. "My sister died the day she pinned ye to the tree, a result of the wounds ye carved into her."  
"Bullshit! I never touched her. She said she lov-" He paused. "Fuck." Kagome turn away from him ever so slightly

"If it wasn't you then...then who?" Kagome and Kaede believed the boy, his reaction was evidence enough, and it made sense to Kaede, having seen the way he once protected Kikyo. Nobody had noticed how pale Kagome seemed to go, they were too caught up in their own thoughts.  
"That's why she shot me then?" He spoke uncertainly. "It must be, she believed I had betrayed her." He growled louder "I'll find who did this and I'll kill them for doing that to me and Kikyo. Let's go." Kagome nodded and followed him, however not at his side this time, just slightly behind him.

Kagome was grateful when the desolate area gradually gave way to greenery and she felt the life around her. It turned out to be quite dense and she realised there was a large river rushing throughout, but a man made dam used for agricultural purposes was stopping the essential lifeblood from flowing to the desolate area they had just come from. It saddened her to know that only one could have life, the village or the forest. They continued on until the ground split into a great canyon, the large river rushing below.  
"Lady Kaede?" Kagome saw the priestess slow her horse as they approached a long rickety old bridge that allowed passage over the gap.  
"This bridge, leads into the lair of Urasue." Kaede spoke grimly. Kagome's expression shifted to one of discomfort at hearing the name  
"Is someone going to tell me who the hell that is?" Inuyasha interjected, arms folded irritated everyone else seemed to know something he didn't, as he came to stand next to the two women.  
"Urasue," Kagome began, "Is an ogre sorceress..a necromancer" Inuyasha sensing the apprehension radiating off the two women, urged her on with a pointed look, not really knowing what a necromancer was but not really wanting to admit it. Kaede finished for her instead  
"Urasue brings the dead back to the living. I now know why she wanted my sister's remains." Everything began to spiral around Inuyasha, he felt like suddenly he couldn't breathe. 'No fucking way...that's impossible' he thought. His blood boiled and his mind was racing with thoughts of his last few moments with the priestess playing over and over again.  
"Inuyasha?" Kagome's voice brought him back to the present, soothing his demon with the concern laced throughout her features. At a glance Inuyasha had looked calm, in fact Kagome thought he hadn't heard Kaede in the first place until she noticed the flexing of his muscles, and saw his clenched fists. He growled under his breath, agitated with her staring at him intensely.  
"What?" He snapped "Let's fucking go already." He stormed past Kagome and started across the bridge not caring if they were following him. Kaede looked between the two half humans before dismounting her horse, and stepping across the bridge herself.  
-

"My Demon kiln thrives with your magic Kikyo!" I can feel it surrounding us!" Urasue cackled, wrapping her heavy robes around her even tighter, chilled despite the tremendous heat her oven was pumping out from behind the rock wall. She slashed away at it, revealing a small space, lined with mud bricks and clay to preserve the heat. Flames licked at her feet, yet she paid them no attention, stepping on the to get closer to the clay casing that lay in the dead centre. Removing a herbal stem branch from her hair she chanted in the ancient language of her now long dead tribe "You will be my finest yet Priestess. You are my masterpiece. Arise!" And threw the herb down watching gleefully as dozens of souls flew into the clay coffin like fireflies until it burst. She stared down into the beautiful pale face of the priestess Kikyo. "Come forth child, and do unto the world my bidding. Your mother's bidding."

'It's warm? Why is it so warm? It is pleasant.' Fingers tingling, the feeling of a body felt foreign to the soul, not used to being inside one for quite sometime. It stretched its reach throughout the body, calibrating itself, not used to filling in one so large. The soul had always been given a new body, a tiny one when it was still in the womb and it was so easy to ease into, due to the small size. And as the body grew, he would learn to crawl then walk then jump. Never in its thousands of years of incarnation, had it ever been given to a large body, this was not normal. Toes twitching, muscles flexing as the soul soaked into every fibre, navigating the body seemed so simple despite its large size, like the soul already knew its way around. It brought the organs to life starting with the brain, filling the lungs up with what little oxygen was available, jumpstarting the heart to pump blood around to the liver and kidneys; the small vessels that carried the blood opening up. Saliva began to fill the mouth and sweat began to form on the brow from the heat and the skin began to rosy ever so slightly in the apple of the cheeks. Finally when the soul felt it was settled in, it realised it knew this body; it had housed one of it's favorite spirits it had lived as, so it summoned that very spirit and waited for her consciousness to take over. 'Welcome back Kikyo, it seems we get a second chance.' and it waited for Kikyo's memories to slam into it.  
"W...W…" Kikyo stirred, the white of her eyes showing as her eyelids flickered. "Warm…" Her voice was barely a whisper, not yet comprehending what was happening just yet.  
"...rld my bidding. Your mother's bidding." A voice croaked out near her and Kikyo slowly moved her arms to her chest where something scratchy lay upon her, she grasped sloppily at a stem with leaves, sluggish. Opening her eyes she winced at the bright light that surrounded the short, fat figure who she assumed had been speaking to her. "Kikyo, my child," Kikyo scowled, this was not her mother; Kikyo's mother had been tall and beautiful, nothing like the hag before her now. She felt demonic energy attached to parts of her mind and body like a puppeteer's strings but as her spiritual power came back to her, she was able to snap the connections easily, this demon was weak….how had it resurrected her? Kikyo sensed a very familiar energy and saw in the old hags grasp a pink light. 'She has the Shikon jewel?! How? It was burned with my body! That's how she revived me...but how did she get it?' "I am Urasue and you will follow me." Kikyo stood up uncertainly, and wobbled towards the woman, the herbs still clutched to her chest.

Kagome stared at the back of Inuyasha's head, watching his behavior. Surviving by herself for years on end and being so connected with life had taught her how to read people, she was observant, very observant. He had his shoulders squared and his movements were stiff, it seemed like he was taking his time, not caring about the treatment of Kikyo's sacred ashes or maybe angry thinking about her. But Kagome knew by the drooping of his ears, and the way he was clenching and unclenching his fist, he was agitated...nervous. 'He still loves her…even through the anger.' She saw the hurt in him too, and for some reason she was sad. Why? She didn't pity him... Because he still loved Kikyo? 'No that can't be. I don't care about that' She closed her eyes physically shook her head to dispel the thought almost crashing into the back of Inuyasha.  
"Inuyasha?" She poked her head around to see his face, her eyes widened. "Inu… Inuyasha?" His face was frozen, eyes focused on something that Kagome couldn't see, his ears were pointed and he was breathing deeply, slowly through his nose. His body was completely rigid one second then gone the next as he bolted off across the remainder of the rickety bridge, rocking it violently, so much that Kaede yelped and had to grip on to the rope for dear life. Kagome leaped to her side, and then proceeded across quickly, Kaede upon her back she followed after Inuyasha.  
"Kagome, ye must hurry" Kaede was panting but her voice held an urgency Kagome could not ignore "I can sense my sister, I can sense Kikyo's spiritual powers!"

When the two locked eyes, it was like everything melted away except them. His gold eyes held so much emotion, her black eyes looked as though they held none, but he knew her better. He knew if he stood right up against her, noses almost touching, he would see the swirl of vehemence in them, and the way her eyebrows dipped just a fraction told him the extent of the rage she was holding on to. 'He's still alive...there's no way my arrow failed to keep his soul dormant...he must have been released. What the hell is going on?' she thought, watching his movements. His eyes burned into her still naked from, modesty kept barely intact by her long hair, and he looked furious; the thought only pissed Kikyo off even more 'How dare he be furious, when he is the one who betrayed me first.' His lips quivered slightly which she picked up, a tell-tale sign he was choosing his words carefully. She prepared for the nasty things he would say, 'Go on Inuyasha, say my name you lying bastard. Say it.' He spoke, finally breaking the silence, saying her name for the first time since he had awoken "Ki...Kikyo." she was surprised by the lack of anger in his voice, and the way it trembled. A burning agony spread across her chest and shoulder racking her body with pain and she was forced to the ground. Inuyasha gasped, pure muscle memory told him to go over there and catch her but invisible hands were grasping his ankles and legs, keeping him in place. Kikyo's hand darted out, snatching the robes Urasue was holding out to her, and donned the white haori quickly, followed by the red hakama. She stood up, securing the ties and it took Inuyasha's breath away, there she was, his Kikyo, standing before him in her priestess robes looking as delicate as she did 50 years ago.  
"Kikyo!" A loud exclamation brought Inuyasha back to reality, Kaede was shuffling forward, tears in her one good eye. Kikyo looked up in confusion, sensing the woman's spiritual energy, until finally all of the strings connected in her mind.  
"Kaede, my sweet sister" a soft look appeared on Kikyo's face, and the tears which had been building up in Kaede's eye finally spilled over, trailing down her cheek.  
"My dear sister, ye have been brought back to us, I have aged so yet ye still recognize me" The old woman was beside herself with tears of joy,

"Kikyo! I command you to kill these intruders!" Urasue's nasally voice irritated Kikyo to no end, her small gnarled hands shoved a wooden bow and some badly made arrows into her hands, "Listen to me, kill that filthy half demon and his wench for your moth-" She never finished her sentence, Kikyo blasted her with purifying energy before she could,  
"You are not my mother, demon scum." The harshness of her words startling her, when had she ever been filled with such darkness and hatred? She had never really hated demons, and had always tried to remain neutral in her battles, so why did she feel like she had been brought back by the devil himself in his image of vengeance? Why was she not allowed peace? Not allowed to rest? Her eye trailed from the piles of soot that was once Urasue, and trained her eyes on the culprit,  
"Inuyasha," snatching the bow Urasue had provided her she nocked an arrow and aimed it at the boy before her, "Why did you betray me!?" she demanded an explanation and she would receive it, then drag his sorry ass down to hell. She wouldn't miss this time. A female demon, quite a bit shorter than Kikyo stepped out in front of Inuyasha; the woman directed a look of vexation towards her. "Move woman, this does not concern you. I'll purify you too if you get in my way." Inuyasha was in a pure state of disbelief, in a few short minutes he had seen his dead love who had betrayed him, brought back to life and here she was aiming the same weapon at his heart. He barely registered Kagome's movements, nor Kaede's words  
"Nay sister! It was not Inuyasha who betrayed you!" Kikyo, turned her head slightly in her sister's direction but her eyes never left Inuyasha's "I believe it truly was not his doing sister!"  
"You lie! For a half demon no less!" Inuyasha visibly flinched at her words, ears drooping. Hearing her gentle voice directed towards him with such an intense vitriolic tone set his mind into turmoil, his human side wanted her to stop looking at him like that, it hurt so much, his demon side wanted to claw her face off for that accusing look and for betraying him in the first place. The part that hurt most was the way she spat 'Half-Demon' out at him...she knew he hated that. He was being tugged back and forth by his two halves internally and he wasn't sure which side he should let pull him over the edge. Kagome made the choice for him yanking his arm with a strength he didn't know she possessed almost popping his arm out of the socket, a flaming pink arrow whizzed past his face. He was almost stunned that Kikyo had let the arrow fly, but the insults she was hurling his way clarified that she too felt the same about the betrayal as he had when he woke up.

"Inuyasha snap out of it!" Kagome yelled, yanking on one of his forelocks to get his attention, Kikyo let fly another one but this time he was ready, he and Kagome leaped in opposite directions, the arrows landing between where the two of them once stood, leaving a large crater from the sheer amount of power behind them. The bow however couldn't take Kikyo's power and practically disintegrated in her hands, and they noticed a large red stain spreading across her torso from her left shoulder.  
"This is what you did to me Inuyasha" Tears of anger and sadness welled in her eyes but Kikyo held them back, "You said you loved me and you killed me! I will never have peace until you are dead; I hate you!" With those words, Kikyo's face went blank, her jaw slackened and eyes rolled back, she fainted on the spot, her body no longer able to handle the blood loss. Something in Inuyasha's reaction caused Kagome's heart to beat almost painfully in her chest, he was at Kikyo's side before her body had even crumpled, catching her and cradling her to his chest. There was a storm of emotions raging within him, evident in his eyes when he looked at Kagome,  
"Kagome, please help her." Kagome nodded. 

* * *

She is back! So I've watched Inuyasha a whole bunch of time over the last 3-4 years and the first couple times i watched the series I hated Kikyo so much, I thought she was a home wrecking cockblock... But after a few time watching I began to really like her. Shes so strong and beautiful and her story is tragic, shes a really amazing character who isn't explored enough. I'm going to reflect that in this story because alot of the time in Kagome x Inuyasha fics shes bashed and made out to be an evil ho who wants to kill Kagome and ugh I just, I'm not doing that.

Second of all The whole spirit vs soul concept is really confusing for some people so i Just wanted to take a moment to explain. The soul is the entity that lives on and is reincarnated where as the spirit is unique to one individual, so a soul lives as many spirits but once it does in a life time, the spirit passes on to another world and the soul is reincarnated into another spirit. Sort of like..when you play an MMORPG, the account is the soul and all the different classes/races you play, each character is a spirit :D Got it? Hope so, I don't want to confuse anyone. Once again this isn't my personal belief/religious view and I know that Shinto does not follow reincarnation, but I'm putting it in there anyway, for character development reasons.

Anyway, send me your questions or reviews, I'll be happy to talk :)

Until next time, Bambi~ x


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